Armor plate construction



May 7, 1946. M. PARTIOT ARMOR PLATE CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 5, 1945lNVENTR MAURICE PART/0T BY- ATTO R N EYS v N) Qfi ,w v a $1 Patented May7, i946 This invention'relates tov armor plate and particularly-to armorplate of the-laminated type, possessing high resistance. to. penetrationand-capable of deflecting projectiles. which pierce the plate.

In applicant' copending application Serial No. 453,913 anovel type oflaminated armor plate, is described in which layers or sheets ofhardened material are arranged .to provide areas that are spaced apartto permit limited relative movementof. the sheets in a direction normalto the outer surface of the. plate. The laminae inthe sheet are securedto each. other. in 'sucha way that.localized zones of weaknessare-.1argely, if not. entirely, eliminated and theoverall resil iency ofthe armor-plate.isimproved.i

In accordance. with the. present invention,- armor plates of thischaracter are further provided with means which serve to deflectaprojectilerengaging or penetrating the plate. The deflecting means arelocated beneath the outer surface of the plate and areinclinedwith-respect thereto. whereby a projectile. penetrating. theouter. surfacewill be deflected if. it. should pass on into the plate.The deflecting means-further serve tov cause the outer surface of theplate-to be; shifted transversely. with respect. to an. inner surface orlower laminaeof the plateon compressionof the plate under impact,whereby. furtherdeflection of the projectile is effected More.- oventhe.yielding characteristics of the plate-in directions both normal to. andparallel to. the outer surface thereof aids in preventing .pene. tration.of the plate by projectiles. 4

One of the objects ofthe present invention is to providea novel type oflaminatedarmor plate whichposses'ses high resistance to penetration,

Another object of the invention is to-provide armor. plate with meansembodied therein which serve to deflectprojectilesengaging. or penetrating the plate.

A further object of theinvention is to provide armor plate formed ofspaced sheets-of. material capable of limited relativemovement-in.direc-. tionsboth normal to and parallel to the outersurfaceof the plate.

A particularobjectof the present inventionis to provide a novel type ofarmor plateembodying spaced sheets of material having members locatedtherebetween andv inclined. with respect to. the sheets todeflect aprojectile and to cause anouter sheet tormove in a transverse directionwith re? spectto an inner sheet-or surface oncornpression ofthe plateunder impact.

These and other objects and features .of .the

invention will appear from the following description-thereof in whichreference is made-to preferred embodimentsot the invention. I

Inthedrawing Fig. 1 isa .transversesectional view through a laminatedarmor plateembodyingthe present i-nen i i.

Fig 2 ;is aview partly in elevation and partlyin vsection showingaportion of the construction illustrated in Fig I I I I I Figs. 3',- 4and 5 are diagrammatic illustrations indicating the manner. of operationof the plate of Fig. .1 upon-impact-ofa projectile; and II I Fig; .Gi adiagrammatic sectional view through an, assembly ofl'armor platesembodying the presentinv'ention. I I I The'construction shown inv Fig.1embodies an outer sheetjotmaterial' 2' and an inner sheetl, whiclrmayibe asurface-of an objectto be protectedbut' p'r'eferably isa sheetof material simila'rto the sheet-2i These sheets are spaced apart andpreferablyfare' arranged in generally parallel relation.

Between the sheets 2 and 4 are a plurality of deflecting member'fifwliicl'iare in the for-in" of strips extendingacross."tli plate fromone edge ofz'theplate t'o the'otliei' in substantially parallelrelation; Thestrips preferably are formed in we separatepieces 8' and I0;" having inclined and overlappin'gment'rar portions' I 2 and Mi-espe'c tively. The piece' -8 of eachdeflecting member hasanedg'eportion H? which extendsparall'el to the outer sheet-2 and 'is weldedtothe" inner'sur face thereotat-lfli- Th=piece 'I fl ofea'ch deflectingmember is'similarIy formedWith-an edge portion 20 vvelde'd at 22- tothe'inner-face of the inner sheet 4. The overlapping central portion IZan'dI 4: of the deflectingm'embers' 6 "are similarly inclinedfiwithmespecttothe-sheets 2 and rend are preferablymarallel and in contacewitlr eachother but are capable of relative 'movem'entoncompression of the plate"under: impact of a projectile. Thexarmoroplateiimay thus zbe formed intwo separate'parts; one ofcwhichtis composed ofthe sheet 2'. with.the-:pieces 8' welddith'ereto' andxthe other composed :ofithexsheetfihaving .pieces I 0 welded thereto. These'r-two-"parts can then beassembled as shown and can be bolted or :otherwise'secured together toformthe completed-armor plate with the. deflecting members 6'."

The :angle at which the central portions ofthe deflecting; members iiareinclined to the adjacent sheets and .the spacing.-of the deflectingmembers from one another is preferably such-that *these members--project over each other as shown;

When the deflecting members are so arranged, a projectile, in order topass through the armor plate in a direction normal. to the sheet 2 andin the zone shown by the line A-A in Fig. 1, would have to pass throughthe sheet 2, then through the reinforcing edge portion l6 of the outerpiece 8 of one deflecting member, then through the overlapping inclinedportions [2 and M of the pieces forming an adjacent deflecting member,thence through the reinforcing edge portion 20 f the piece In of nextadjacent deflecting member and finally passing out through the innersheet 4. It will thus be seen that the armor plate presents sixsuccessive layers or sheets of material which would'have to bepenetrated by any projectile passing in a normal direction through suchportions of the plate. In case the projectile happens to pass throughthe plate in an intermediate zone, it will still have V to penetratefive layers or sheets of the protection material.

However, with the armor plate constructed as shown, a projectile willnot pass directly through the armor plate in a straight line asdescribed, since the nose of the projectile on engaging the inclinedsurface of the deflecting member will be turned or deflected laterally.On further penetration through the plate, after such deflection, theprojectile can only engage the reinforcing edge portion 20 of thedeflecting member or the inner sheet 4 at such an angle thereto that itschances of penetrating the inner sheet and passing completely throughthe armor plate are greatly reduced. Moreover, the central portions I2and [4 of the deflecting members are not rigidly secured together butare free'to move and bend under the impact of a projectile. Therefore, alarge part of the energy of the projectile will be expended in bendingor distorting the deflecting members whereby the inertia of theprojectile is reduced and the possibility of complete penetration of thearmor plate is further diminished.

Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 1, the deflecting members are all inclinedin the same direction so that compression of the plate vunder impacttends to cause the inclined portions of the deflecting members to moveabout their points of contact with the inner and outer sheets as pivots.The outer sheet will therefore tend to be displaced laterally withrespect to the inner sheet, moving to the left, as seen in Fig. 1. Thus,transverse movement of the outer sheet under impact further serves todeflect the projectile on engagement with or penetration thereof intothe armor plate.

The action of the armor plate will differ under different types ofimpact and when struck .by different types of projectiles. Typicalactions are shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

As shownin Fig. 3, a projectile 24 striking the armor plate in adirection normal to the outer surface thereof may penetrate the outersheet 2 so as to engage the deflecting member 6. This member, beinginclined, tends to deflect the projectile to the right as seen in Fig.3. Moreover, the nose of the projectile is so inclined to the deflectingmember that it presents a relatively flat or curved surface thereto andtends to crush or deform the member instead of penetrating therethrough.Furthermore, the member 6 embodies two pieces of material havingrelatively movable portions [2 and I4 so that these parts bend or aredistorted by the projectile until they the portions present to relativemovement as they are deformed, serve to decrease the inertia of theprojectile and finally present it in an inclined or broadside positionto the multiple layers of steel which back up and reinforce each otherto prevent complete penetration of the projectile through the armorplate.

As shown in Fig. 4, if a projectile approaching the platein a directionnormal to the outer sheet 2 is partially spent or if the outer sheet 2is of such strength that the deflecting members yield somewhat beforethe nose of the projectile has penetrated very far through the sheet,the outer sheet 2 will be forced inward compressing the armor plate. Asa result of this compression, the outer sheet will be shifted to theleft as seen in Fig. 4,deflecting the nose of the projectile to the leftbefore it engages the deflecting member 26. The deflecting members 26shown in Fig.4 are formed of a single integral element but it will beapparent that they may be of the two piece construction shown in Fig. 1,and in fact, such two piece formationis preferred.

When so deflected by movement of the outer sheet '2 of the armor plate,the projectile will be presented in a substantially normal position tothe deflecting member but on penetration thereof, it will approachtheend portion 28 of an adjacent deflecting member andthe rear sheet 4 ofthe armor plate at such an angle that final deflection thereof isassured and complete penetration of the armor plate prevented.

If, as shown in Fig. 5, the projectile penetrates the outer sheet 2 (andedge portion it of a de fleeting member) before much compression of thearmor plate takes place, the nose of the projectile will engage theinclined portion of the next adjacent deflecting member at such an anglethat it will be diverted from it normal path of travel through theplate. Furthermore, the impact of the projectile on the inclinedportions of the deflecting member will instantly and forcibly shift theouter sheet 2 to the left, as seen in Fig. 5, and thus will throw thetail of the projectile sideways, further deflecting the projectile asshown in dotted lines and decreasing its chances of completepenetration.

It will be noted that the arrangement of the deflecting members shown inthe figures of the drawing is such that, a projectile that isnotsubstantially spent and forcibly penetrates the outer sheet of thearmor plate, as indicated byFigs. 3 and 5, will be deflected to theright if it should penetrate through the rear sheet 4 and emerge fromthe armor plate. It will be apparent, however, that the deflection ofthe projectile would be toward the left, if the deflecting memberswereinclined in the opposite direction. It is, therefore, possible toarrange a number of armor plates so as to deflect projectiles inopposite directions from a particular area to afford the greatest proetection therefor. Thus,.as shown in*Fig..6,;the plate 30 is constructedand positioned to deflect bullets to the left, while plate 32 willdeflect bullets to the right, leaving a more thoroughly protected area34 which may be the cockpit of a plane, a magazine in a boat, thebreachportlon of a gun, or any other vitalparts suchas portions of atank, reconnaissance car, or the like. The

meager joint between these plates may be covered .by a,

er a o ed wea me r. time serve 'to hold the plates'iiiland 32 in place.w I i constructing" the armor plate, the sheets 2 and iand' the piecesfrom which the deflecting? members} are formed are preferably thin slieets of steel"having' high resistance topenetration by armor piercingbulletsfEach of the sheets and pieces may be individually nitrided orotherwise case hardened either before or after the elements areassembled into the finished armor plate. If they are hardened prior toassembly in juxtaposed interlocking relation, the adjacent surfaces ofthe pieces l2 and [4 of which the deflecting members are formed willeach be more evenly hardened so that the total thickness of the hardenedlayers will be increased and the resistance to penetration improved ascompared with hardening of the armor plate structure after the plateswith their attached deflecting members have been assembled in suchjuxtaposed interlocking relation.

In assembling the elements into a finished armor plate, the reinforcingedge portions I6 of the pieces 8 of the deflecting members are welded tothe outer sheet 2, progressing from right to left so that the point tobe welded is readily accessible. Thereafter, the edge portions of thepieces ID of the deflecting members are welded in a similar manner tothe inner sheet 4 proressing from left to right thus forming twoindependent structures. The terminal piece of each deflecting member isprovided with a reinforcing piece 38 which is welded thereto to give itstrength and penetration resistance comparable with that of theoverlapping portions l2 and 14 of the intermediate deflecting members.The end portion of each plate is also provided with a reinforcin plate40 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The structures thus formed are thenassembled with the portions [4 of the pieces secured to the inner plate4 overlapping the portions l2 of the pieces secured to the outer plate2. The structures are held in assembled relation by any suitable meansbut are preferably secured together by bolts 42 which pass through boltholes 44 in the plates 2 and 4 which are sufiiciently larger than in thebolts to permit the desired relative movement of the plates with respectto each other.

The welding operations may, of course, be carried out simultaneously atvarious points at the same time by the use of welding equipment havingmultiple electrodes and by suitably clamping the elements together in ajig or other suitable fixture. In any case, when welding the elementstogether, it is desirable to locate the welded spots in staggered orindex spaced relation, that is, in such a manner that no two or morewelds are in alignment in a direction normal to the surface of theassembled plate. In this way, any areas which are softened by thewelding operation are so displaced with respect to each other that thereare no overlapping or localized areas of weakness which might permit thepenetration of a projectile through the armor plate.

While the invention has been shown in the drawing as composed of asingle armor plate, including only two parallel sheets with deflectingmembers between the same, it will be evident that any number of armorplates or plates embodying any number of alternate layers of sheets anddeflecting members may be produced and assembled as desired to providethe necessary protection to any given area. It will also be apparentthat the form, shape and arrangeme v ie efl tin ni m ree d sh ts and. SI"with e st ibl a h. 0f -ma i dre lr W h u dep tin f bm the spiritofQtheinventio In view thereo f, it s mulate une r togaf that thepreferred form of the invention shown in the drawing and describedaboveds intended for illustrative pur possonly and snot intended tolimit thescope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A composite armor plate comprising a pair of sheets of metal arrangedin superposed spaced relation and having a series of deflecting memberslocated therebetween, said members being formed of sheet metal andarranged in pairs with a portion of each member arranged in overlappingparallel relation to a like portion of the other member of the pair andextending obliquely outwardly toward the opposing sheet, one of saidmembers having a marginal portion thereof bent to conform to the surfaceof one of said sheets and secured thereto, the other member of each pairhaving a like marginal portion bent to conform to the surface of theopposite sheet and being secured thereto, and said members having theiropposite ends free, said overlapping parallelly arranged portions ofsaid members also being of such length and inclination as to overlie, onthe one side, the bent marginal portion of one member of the nextadjacent pair of deflecting members and to underlie, on the other side,the bent marginal portion of one member of the pair of deflectingmembers next adjacent on the opposite side of the first mentioned pairof deflecting members.

2. A composite armor plate comprising a pair of sheets of metal arrangedin superposed spaced relation and having a series of deflecting memberslocated therebetween, said members being formed of sheet metal andarranged in pairs with a portion of each member arranged in overlappingparallel relation to a like portion of the other member of the pair andextending obliquely outwardly toward the opposing sheet, one of saidmembers having a marginal portion thereof bent to conform to the surfaceof one of said sheets and welded thereto, the other member of each pairhaving a like marginal portion bent to conform to the surface of theopposite sheet and being welded thereto, and said members having theiropposite ends free, said overlapping parallelly arranged portions ofsaid members also being of such length and inclination as to overlie, onthe one side, the bent marginal portion of one member of the nextadjacent pair of deflecting members and to underlie, on the other side,the bent marginal portion of one member of the pair of deflectingmembers next adjacent on the opposite side of the first mentioned pairof deflecting members.

3. A composite armor plate comprising a pair of sheets of metal arrangedin superposed spaced relation and having a series of deflecting memberslocated therebetween, said members being formed of sheet metal andarranged in pairs with a portion of each member arranged in overlappingparallel relation to a like portion of the other member of the pair andextending obliquely outwardly toward the opposing sheet, one of saidmembers having a marginal portion thereof bent to conform to the surfaceof one of said sheets and welded thereto, the other member of each pairhaving a like marginal portion bent to con form to the surface of theopposite sheet and being welded thereto, and said members having theiropposite ends free, said overlapping paralleliy arranged portions ofsaid members also being of-such length and inclination as to overlie, onthe one side, the bent marginal portion of one member of the nextadjacent pair of deflecting members and to underlie, on the other side,the bent marginal portion of one member of the pair of deflectingmembers next adjacent on the opposite side of the first mentioned pairof deflecting members, and the points at which said members are'weldedto said sheets being arranged so that no two weld spots are in alignment in a direction normal to the plate.

MAURICE PARTIOT.

